阅读说明：本技术 暂态增强电路与使用该暂态增强电路的恒定导通时间转换器 (Transient enhancement circuit and constant on-time converter using the same ) 是由 张耀仁 于 2019-11-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明关于一种用于恒定导通时间转换器的该暂态增强电路。该恒定导通时间转换器包括误差放大器和比较器。该暂态增强电路包括第一采样并保持电路和零电流检测电路。该第一采样并保持电路具有输入端和输出端。该第一采样并保持电路的输入端耦接该误差放大器的输出端,该第一采样并保持电路的输出端耦接该比较器的第一输入端。该零电流检测电路耦接到该第一采样并保持电路,并且被布置用于当检测到流过该恒定导通时间转换器的负载的电流为零时,输出控制信号。本发明提供一种使用该暂态增强电路的恒定导通时间转换器。(The invention relates to a transient enhancement circuit for a constant on-time converter. The constant on-time converter includes an error amplifier and a comparator. The transient boost circuit includes a first sample-and-hold circuit and a zero current detection circuit. The first sample-and-hold circuit has an input and an output. The input terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output terminal of the error amplifier, and the output terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input terminal of the comparator. The zero current detection circuit is coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit and is arranged to output a control signal when detecting that a current flowing through a load of the constant on-time converter is zero. The invention provides a constant on-time converter using the transient enhancement circuit.)

1. A transient enhancement circuit for a constant on-time converter, the constant on-time converter including an error amplifier and a comparator, the transient enhancement circuit comprising:

a first sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the error amplifier and the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and

a zero current detection circuit coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit, wherein the zero current detection circuit is configured to output a control signal when detecting that a load current flowing through a constant on-time converter coupled to the constant on-time converter is zero.

2. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 1, further comprising:

a second sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit is connected to the first input of the comparator; and

a clamp circuit having a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal of the clamp circuit is coupled to the output terminal of the second sample-and-hold circuit, the second terminal of the clamp circuit is coupled to ground,

wherein the zero current detection circuit is coupled to the second sample-and-hold circuit.

3. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 2, further comprising:

a compensation circuit coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

4. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 3 wherein said compensation circuit comprises:

a resistor; and

a capacitor, which is connected with the first capacitor,

wherein the resistor and the capacitor are coupled in series between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

5. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 2, wherein said second sample-and-hold circuit comprises:

a second switch coupled between the input and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit; and

a second capacitor coupled between an input of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground,

wherein during each duty cycle, the second switch is opened in response to the control signal.

6. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 2 wherein said second sample and hold circuit is arranged to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from said error amplifier, said clamp circuit then clamping said sampled voltage level in response to said control signal.

7. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 2, further comprising:

a differentiator having an input and an output, wherein the input of the differentiator is coupled to the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the differentiator is coupled to the first input of the comparator.

8. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 2, wherein said clamping circuit comprises:

a plurality of diodes are coupled in series between the first end of the clamp circuit and the second end of the clamp circuit.

9. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 1, wherein said first sample-and-hold circuit comprises:

a first switch connected between an input terminal and an output terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit; and

a first capacitor coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground,

wherein during each duty cycle, the first switch is opened in response to the control signal.

10. The transient enhancement circuit of claim 1 wherein the first sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier in response to the control signal.

11. A constant on-time converter, comprising:

an error amplifier having a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the second input terminal is coupled to a reference voltage;

a comparator having a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal;

a buck converter having an input and an output, wherein the output of the buck converter is coupled to the first input of the error amplifier, the second input of the comparator, and a load;

a constant on-time controller coupled between the input of the buck converter and the output of the comparator;

a transient enhancement circuit, comprising:

a first sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the error amplifier and the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and

a zero current detection circuit coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit,

the zero current detection circuit is used for outputting a control signal when detecting that the current flowing through a load coupled to the constant-conduction-time converter is zero.

12. The constant on-time converter of claim 11, further comprising:

a second sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and

a clamp circuit coupled between an output of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground,

wherein the zero current detection circuit is coupled to the second sample-and-hold circuit.

13. The constant on-time converter of claim 12, wherein the clamp circuit comprises:

a plurality of diodes coupled in series.

14. The constant on-time converter of claim 13, further comprising:

a differentiator having an input and an output, wherein the input of the differentiator is coupled to the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit and the output of the differentiator is coupled to the first input of the comparator.

15. The constant on-time converter of claim 12, further comprising:

a compensation circuit coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

16. A constant on-time converter according to claim 15, wherein the compensation circuit comprises:

a resistor; and

a capacitor, which is connected with the first capacitor,

wherein the resistor and the capacitor are coupled in series between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

17. The constant on-time converter of claim 12, wherein the second sample-and-hold circuit comprises:

a second switch coupled between the input and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit; and

a second capacitor coupled between an input of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground,

wherein during each duty cycle, the second switch is opened in response to the control signal.

18. The constant on-time converter of claim 12, wherein the second sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier, the clamp circuit then clamping the sampled voltage level in response to the control signal.

19. The constant on-time converter of claim 11, wherein the first sample-and-hold circuit comprises:

a first switch connected between an input terminal and an output terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit; and

a first capacitor coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground,

wherein during each duty cycle, the first switch is opened in response to a control signal.

20. The constant on-time converter of claim 11, wherein the first sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sampled voltage level of an error voltage output from the error amplifier in response to the control signal.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic circuit for a constant on-time converter, and more particularly to an electronic circuit capable of enhancing a load transient of a constant on-time converter.

Background

The buck converter is a dc-to-dc power converter that steps down voltage from its input (power supply) to its output (load). Regardless of its control mode, as shown in fig. 1, the buck converter consists of three components: a pulse modulator for generating a pulse train of an input voltage to a high levelGenerating a ground voltage as a low level signal; an LC filter for averaging the pulse train output by the pulse modulator; and a loop compensation circuit, which generates the control signal VC by comparing its output voltage with an internal reference voltage, usually through an error amplifier. The pulse modulator converts an input voltage V_INAs a pulse train feed forward. The LC filter converts the pulse train from the modulator to an appropriate output voltage.

In FIG. 1, the LC filter averages V_SWThereby generating the output voltage V substantially by regulation_OUT. When Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) control is used in either Voltage Mode (VM) or Current Mode (CM), this density is referred to as the PWM duty cycle. Input voltage V_INAnd the output voltage V_OUTThe relationship between can be roughly described by the following equation: DxV_IN＝V_OUT(1) Where D is the duty cycle of the PWM.

In addition, in order to operate the buck converter, the switching frequency F must be adjusted_SWRemaining well above the cut-off frequency point F of its LC filter_LCThe position of (a). Otherwise, the pulse train is not well averaged, which results in the output voltage V being good_OUTThe waveform of (a) generates a large ripple.

In the system of FIG. 1, when the load current I_OUTThe output voltage V is generated when the value changes (in the load block of fig. 3)_OUTThis is often referred to as a load transient. As shown in FIG. 2, when I_OUTWhen increasing, V_OUTWill temporarily descend and then rise again. On the other hand, when I_OUTWhen decreasing, V_OUTWill rise temporarily and then fall again.

Disclosure of Invention

As described above, when the constant on-time converter is connected to a light load, the load current is small, which cannot effectively discharge the energy stored in the LC filter. Thus, the output voltage V_OUTIt will rise slightly. Slightly higher V_OUTWill be fed back to the error amplifier of the loop compensation circuit of the constant on-time converter. If the feedback voltage is higher than the reference voltage, the output voltage of the error amplifier will drop, causingTo obtain the output voltage V_OUTDropping back to its original level. Due to the output voltage V_OUTThe "extra" time required for recovery, such disturbances particularly affect load transients when the load of the constant on-time converter goes from very low to high.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a transient enhancement circuit and a constant on-time converter which make it possible to enhance the transient of the load when the load of the constant on-time converter increases from a very low to a high load.

To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transient-enhancement circuit for a constant on-time converter including an error amplifier and a comparator, the transient-enhancement circuit comprising: a first sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the error amplifier and the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and a zero current detection circuit coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit, wherein the zero current detection circuit is configured to output a control signal when it detects that a load current flowing through a constant on-time converter coupled thereto is zero.

In the transient enhancement circuit according to the above embodiment, the transient enhancement circuit further comprises a second sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit is connected to the first input of the comparator; and a clamp circuit having a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal of the clamp circuit is coupled to the output terminal of the second sample-and-hold circuit, and the second terminal of the clamp circuit is coupled to ground, wherein the zero current detection circuit is coupled to the second sample-and-hold circuit.

In the transient-enhancement circuit of any preceding embodiment, the first sample-and-hold circuit comprises a first switch connected between an input and an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit; and a first capacitor coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground, wherein the first switch is opened in response to the control signal during each duty cycle.

In the transient-enhancement circuit according to any one of the embodiments above, the first sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier in response to the control signal.

In the transient enhancement circuit according to any of the above embodiments, the second sample-and-hold circuit comprises a second switch coupled between an input and an output of the second sample-and-hold circuit; and a second capacitor coupled between the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground, wherein the second switch is opened in response to the control signal during each duty cycle.

In the transient-enhancement circuit according to any one of the embodiments described above, the second sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sample voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier, and then the clamp circuit clamps the sample voltage level in response to the control signal.

In the transient enhancement circuit according to any of the above embodiments, the transient enhancement circuit further comprises a differentiator having a first input, a second input, and an output, wherein the second input of the differentiator is coupled to the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the differentiator is coupled to the first input of the comparator.

In the transient enhancement circuit of any of the above embodiments, the clamping circuit comprises a plurality of diodes coupled in series between a first terminal of the clamping circuit and a second terminal of the clamping circuit.

In the transient enhancement circuit according to any of the above embodiments, the transient enhancement circuit further comprises a compensation circuit coupled between the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

In the transient enhancement circuit according to any of the embodiments above, the compensation circuit comprises a resistor; and a capacitor, wherein the resistor and the capacitor are coupled in series between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

In order to achieve the above object, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a constant on-time (COT) converter including: an error amplifier having the first input terminal, the second input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the second input terminal is coupled to a reference voltage; a comparator having a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal; a buck converter having an input and an output, wherein the output of the buck converter is coupled to the first input of the error amplifier, the second input of the comparator, and a load; a constant on-time controller coupled between the input of the buck converter and the output of the comparator; a transient enhancement circuit, comprising: a first sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the error amplifier and the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and a zero current detection circuit coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit, wherein the zero current detection circuit is configured to output a control signal when detecting that a load current flowing through a constant on-time converter coupled to the constant on-time converter is zero.

In the COT converter according to the above embodiment, the COT converter further includes: a second sample-and-hold circuit having an input and an output, wherein the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit, and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit is coupled to the first input of the comparator; and a clamp circuit coupled between an output of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground, wherein the zero-current detection circuit is coupled to the second sample-and-hold circuit.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the first sample-and-hold circuit includes a first switch connected between an input terminal and an output terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit; and a first capacitor coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground, wherein the first switch is opened in response to the control signal during each duty cycle.

In the method according to any of the embodiments above, the first sample-and-hold circuit is arranged to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier in response to the control signal.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the second sample-and-hold circuit includes a second switch coupled between an input terminal and an output terminal of the second sample-and-hold circuit; and a second capacitor coupled between the input of the second sample-and-hold circuit and ground, wherein the second switch is opened in response to the control signal during each duty cycle.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the second sample-and-hold circuit is configured to hold a sampled voltage level of the error voltage output from the error amplifier, and then the clamp circuit clamps the sampled voltage level in response to the control signal.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, a clamping circuit includes a plurality of diodes coupled in series between a first terminal of the clamping circuit and a second terminal of the clamping circuit.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the COT converter further comprises a compensation circuit coupled between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the compensation circuit includes a resistor; and a capacitor, wherein the resistor and the capacitor are coupled in series between an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit and ground.

In the COT converter according to any one of the above embodiments, the COT converter further comprises a differentiator having a first input terminal, a second input terminal, and an output terminal, wherein the second input terminal of the differentiator is coupled to the output terminal of the second sample-and-hold circuit, and the output terminal of the differentiator is coupled to the first input terminal of the comparator.

With this arrangement, the transient-enhancement circuit and the COT converter using the transient-enhancement circuit can sample and hold the voltage level output by the error amplifier when the load is low during the duty cycle, that is, prevent the output voltage of the COT converter from dropping when the load increases, to avoid increasing the load transient.

Drawings

The structure and techniques employed by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a circuit configuration of a conventional buck converter;

FIG. 2 is a transient diagram of the load current and output voltage of the buck converter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a Constant On Time (COT) converter 1 of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the transient enhancement circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the transient enhancement circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the transient enhancement circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the transient enhancement circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the transient boost circuit according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the transient boost circuit according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram of the transient boost circuit according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals

10 transient boost circuit

11 first sample-and-hold circuit

112 first switch

114 first capacitor

12 zero current detection circuit

13 second sample-and-hold circuit

132 second switch

134 second capacitor

14 clamp circuit

15 differentiator

16 compensation circuit

162 resistor

164 capacitor

20 step-down converter

30 COT controller

40 error amplifier

50 comparator

I_OUTLoad current

S _ C1, S _ C2, VC control signals

V_INInput voltage

V_REFReference voltage

V_OUTOutput voltage

V_SWVoltage of pulse train

Detailed Description

The technical means adopted by the invention to achieve the preset purpose are further described below by combining the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments of the invention.

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known components of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. In addition, several terms are discussed below to facilitate understanding of the description.

As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but merely illustrative. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "embodiments of the invention," "embodiments," or "invention" do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

Further, many of the embodiments described herein are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, components of a computer device. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various sequences of actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)) and/or by program instructions being executed by at least one processor. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer readable storage medium such that execution of the sequence of actions enables at least one processor to perform the functions described herein. Further, the sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a combination of hardware and software. Thus, the various aspects of the invention may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each of the embodiments described herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiment may be described herein as, for example, a calculator "configured to" perform the described action.

The present invention will now be described by way of some preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of a constant on-time (COT) converter 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The COT converter 1 includes a transient boost circuit 10, a buck converter 20, a COT controller 30, an error amplifier 40 and a comparator 50. The comparator 50 has a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal. The COT controller 30 is coupled to the buck converter 20. The buck converter 20 is coupled to a load and a second input of the error amplifier 40 and the comparator 50. The error amplifier 40 is coupled to the transient boost circuit 10. The transient boost circuit 10 is coupled to a first input of the comparator 50. The output of the comparator 50 is coupled to the COT controller 30.

The COT controller 30 controls the buck converter 20 via the first control signal S _ C1. The buck converter 20 is coupled to the error amplifier 40 to provide a feedback path for the COT converter 1, wherein an output voltage V of the buck converter 20_OUT(i.e., the step-down voltage) is fed to the error amplifier 40 and is compared with a reference voltage V_REFMaking a comparison, the reference voltage V_REFIs an accurate internal reference target voltage. The result of the comparison is output from the error amplifier 40 and then fed back to the COT controller 30 through the transient boost circuit 10 and the comparator 50. The COT controller 30 then generates the first control signal S _ C1 in response to the feedback.

In detail, the error amplifier 40 has a first input terminal, a second input terminal and an output terminal. The second input terminal is coupled to the reference voltage V_REF. The first input terminal is coupled to the buck converter 20 for receiving the output voltage V via a resistor divider_OUTOr the output voltage V_OUTPartial pressure of (c). This is not a limitation of the present invention. The user should be able to select any one of the circuit designs according to the actual requirements. The error amplifier 40 then compares the feedback voltage to the reference voltage V_REFAnd accordingly outputs a voltage level to the transient-enhancement circuit 10 via an output terminal. When the feedback voltage is higher than the reference voltage V_REFThe output voltage level will decrease.

Referring to fig. 4, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the transient boost circuit 10 includes a first sample-and-hold circuit 11 and a zero current detection circuit 12. The first sample-and-hold circuit 11 has an input terminal and an output terminal. An input terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 is coupled to an output terminal of the error amplifier 40, and an output terminal of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11Coupled to a first input of the comparator 50. The zero current detection circuit 12 is also coupled to the first sample-and-hold circuit 11. The zero current detection circuit 12 is used for outputting the second control signal S _ C2 to the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 when detecting that the current flowing through the load is zero, i.e. the load coupled to the COT converter 1 is extremely low or absent. When the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 receives the second control signal S _ C2, the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 will sample-and-hold the voltage level output from the error amplifier 40 and feed the held voltage forward to the first input of the comparator 50. Thus, when the load coupled to the COT converter 1 is low, the feedback voltage increases and the voltage output from the error amplifier 40 decreases, the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 can hold the voltage level output from the error amplifier 40 at a relatively high position before the error amplifier 40 further drops, and then hold the result of voltage feed-forward during the next duty cycle, and if a load transient occurs, i.e., the load coupled to the COT converter 1 becomes high, the load transient period will shorten because the low point of the load transient is a relatively higher point than that which would occur if the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 were not present during the previous duty cycle. In other words, the output voltage V_OUTIt will take less time to rise, enhancing the transient of the load.

Referring to fig. 5, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 includes a first switch 112 and a first capacitor 114. The first switch 112 is coupled between the input and the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11. The first capacitor 114 is coupled between the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 and ground. The first switch 112 is also coupled to the zero current detection circuit 12. When the first switch 112 receives the second control signal S _ C2, the first switch 112 is turned on. The operation of this embodiment will be readily understood by those skilled in the art after reading the above paragraphs. For the sake of brevity, no further description will be provided herein.

Referring to fig. 6, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In one embodiment, the transient enhancement circuit 10 further comprises a second sample-and-hold circuit 13 and a clamping circuit 14. The second sample-and-hold circuit 13 has an input terminal and an output terminal. An input of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 is coupled to an output of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11, and an output of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 is coupled to a first input of the comparator 50. The second sample-and-hold circuit 13 is also coupled to the zero current detection circuit 12. The operation of the second sample and hold circuit 13 is substantially the same as the operation of the first sample and hold circuit 11. When the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 receives the second control signal S _ C2 from the zero-current detection circuit 12, the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 will sample-and-hold the voltage output from the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 to hold the voltage at a relatively high level before the voltage continues to drop. The maintained voltage level is then fed forward to a first input of the comparator 50. The clamping circuit 14 has a first terminal and a second terminal respectively coupled between the output terminal of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 and ground.

The clamp circuit 14 is used to keep the input voltage of the comparator 50 at a certain level to prevent the comparator 50 from entering a saturation state. However, the voltage level held by the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 will drop slightly due to the slight current drawn from the clamp circuit 14. The second sample-and-hold circuit 13 may mitigate this effect by providing a second voltage-holding mechanism, which will further enhance the load transient.

Referring to fig. 7, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 includes a second switch 132 and a second capacitor 134. The second switch 132 is coupled between the input and the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13. The second capacitor 134 is coupled between the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13 and ground. The second switch 132 is also coupled to the zero current detection circuit 12. When the second switch 132 receives the second control signal S _ C2, the second switch 132 is opened. The operation of this embodiment will be readily understood by those skilled in the art after reading the above paragraphs. For the sake of brevity, no further description will be provided herein.

In the embodiment of fig. 5 or 6, the clamp circuit 14 may be implemented by coupling a plurality of diodes in series or by coupling a plurality of NMOS in series (with the drain and gate of each NMOS connected) between the first and second terminals of the clamp circuit 14.

Referring to fig. 8, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit is shown, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the transient enhancement circuit 10 further comprises a differentiator 15. The differentiator 15 has a first input, a second input and an output. A first input of the differentiator 15 is coupled to the output of the buck converter 20, a second input of the differentiator 15 is coupled to the output of the second sample-and-hold circuit 13, and an output of the differentiator 15 is coupled to a first input of the comparator 50. The differentiator 15 serves to further increase the "ripple" of the output voltage from the second sample and hold circuit 13 before the output voltage of the second sample and hold circuit 13 is fed into the first input of the comparator 50 to provide a more pronounced signal.

Referring to fig. 9, a block diagram of the transient boost circuit is shown, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the transient enhancement circuit 10 further comprises a compensation circuit 16. A compensation circuit 16 is coupled between the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 and ground. Since the COT converter 1 according to the present invention has a feedback path, the COT converter 1 may oscillate if not carefully designed. The compensation circuit 16 is arranged to provide phase compensation to the COT converter 1 to prevent oscillation of the COT converter 1.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the compensation circuit 16 may include a resistor 162 and a capacitor 164 coupled in series between the output of the first sample-and-hold circuit 11 and ground. However, the coupling order of the resistor 162 and the capacitor 164 is not a limitation of the present invention. One skilled in the art may use either design interchangeably without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Having described some preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the preferred embodiments are illustrative only, are not intended to be limiting of the invention in any way, and that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the described embodiments. It is intended that the invention be limited only by the appended claims without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention.